Apparatus for indicating and controlling the flow of solid materials



Feb. 6,1945.

J. MONAMARA 2,368,672.

APPARATUS FOR INDICI .NG AND CONTROLLING THE FLOW 0F SOLID MATERIALS Filed Oct. 21, 1942 D. c. SUPPLY 32262:; LI: ACSl/PPLY i d i l2 A A as N '/0 i N .MATER/AL SUPPLY V T INVENTOR" F7 4 mn/vc/s a Mf/VAMARA g av Patented Feb. 6, 1945.

TROLLING THE FLO RIALS w F SOLID MATE- Francis J. McNamara, Paulsboro, N. J., assignor I to Houdry Process Corporation, Wilmington,

Del., a corporation of D elaware Application October 21, 1942, Serial No. 462,876

2 Claims.

This invention relates to indicators and in V particular is concerned with apparatus for indicating the level of a body of granular pulverulent or molded fluent materials.

The indicator is. ideally adapted for use with the apparatus shown in the application of Hu-' bert A. Shabaker,Serial No. 454,782, filed August 14, 1942; for Method and apparatus for adjusting activity of catalytic material, which discloses an upright chamber having at its upper end a hopper for supplying material to the chamber wherein it is treated and means associated with the lower end of the chamber for controlling the rate of discharge of the material therefrom in order to maintain the chamber at all times full of material and assure proper time to efiect the desired treatment of the material. The device of the present invention when used in combination with the apparatus of the above noted application will be arranged to give at least an indication by visual or audible signals that the hopper is running empty and hence that the treating chamber may not be maintained suiiicientlyfull to efiect the proper treatment and also to control the supply of the material to the hopper and indicate when a predetermined level is reached.

In its broader aspects the device of the present invention is applicable to indicate the level of solid materials flowing by gravity through one receptacle to fill or supply materials to another receptacle. The friction'of the solids moving through the feeding receptacle-is utilized to depress a depending bar or arm which is disposed in the path of the material flowing through the receptacle.

One object of the invention is to providev a device for controlling the supply of solid material flowing through a receptacle. Another ob- .iect is to utilize the frictional effect of solid material flowing through a chamber to regulate the supply of material to the chamber. Another object is to provide apparatus for continuously moving solid fluent materials through a chamber and indicating when a predetermined level is reached. Other objects, as well as the nature and scope of the invention, will be more readily understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which V Fig. 1 is generally a diagrammatic view in elevationwith portions shown in detail;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a part of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

- Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged views of modifications of a part of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 1, l0 indicates a chamber through which the solid fluent material is passed. For the purpose of illustration only the chamber it! will be considered as a treating chamber of the type referred to in the heretofore-mentioned application of Hubert A. Shabakenwherein granular preformed or molded masses of contact material are treated in order to adjust the adsorptive capacity of the material, which is later used to assist in chemical reactions, for example, in the transformation or other treatment of higher boiling hydrocarbons to produce the desired lower boiling products. In the operation of the apparatus a mass of the material is maintained in the chamber for a suflicient length of time to eiiect the proper treatment and in order to accomplish the treatment expeditiously, the contact material M is passed through the chamber In continuously and the supply of material to and removal of material from the chamber are so correlated that all portions of the continuously moving body of material remain in the chamber for the proper length of time. At H is indicated a material supply zone where the material to be treated is stored and which is supplied to the top of the chamber by means of an elevator 12 driven by motor P and passes therethrough to the discharge l3 of the chamber Where it is removed by a conveyor belt M, which normally regulates the removal of material so that the chamber in is maintained full of contact material. The fluid utilized in treating the material M as is passes through the chamber I0 is preferably supplied to the chamber by a conduit near the bottom (not shown) for passage upwardly in countercurrent flow through the material M and a hopper I 5 extends into the chamber and is provided with a discharge end l6 which defines the upper limit of the bed o'f material in the chamber In.

In the practical construction of the apparatus for treating material M the chamber In is extremely high, for example 30 to 40 feet, and it is impractical to observe the level of the material in the hopper during the treating operation. In order to be certain that the hopper does not run empty and that a. preselected level of material is maintained in the hopper, means are provided and arranged to control the supply of.

The particular apparatus shown comprises a lever 20 which is pivotally mounted on a lug 2| to be disposed above the hopper and a bar both the power arm 22 of the lever and the bar 23 and hence when no material is moving through the hopper the arm 24 will be disposed below the horizontal as is indicated by its full line position and the lower end of .bar 23 will 'be at its highest point as i also indicated by its full line position. Springs or pulley arrangements may as well be utilized to replace the lever 20 and accomplish the same result. As the material M is supplied to the hopper at the beginning of an operation its flow therethrough to the chamber 10 will have little or no. effect on the position of the bar 23 since the material during the period when the chamber is being filled will have negligible frictional effect on the bar. When the chamber In becomes full and the material builds up in the hopper the frictional effect of the moving body of material will become increasingly greater as the level of the material in the hopper becomes increasingly higher. For example, assume that the material has built up to a level arbitrarily chosen as line L1 and the free end ofthe bar 23, shown in full line position, is surrounded by the material, then as the body of material continues to rise in the hopper, for example, up to the arbitrarily chosen line La the 'bar 23 will be urged downwardly and will move through the position arbitrarily selected and indicated by the dot and dash lines and the lever 24 passes through a generally horizontal position, also shown by the dot-dash lines. During the period of normal operation the arm 24 of the lever will move between the arrow points A1 and A2 and when the level of the material L2, is reached the bar will be pulled downwardly, for example into the discharge l6 of the hopper, as indicated by the dashed line position of bar 23, and the arm 24 of-the lever 20 will be at its highest point, as indicated .by its dashed line position.

As will be appreciated, various known types of apparatus may be utilized to indicate the varying positions of the lever 20 or the bar 23. For example, visual or audible signals may be actuated by the movement of any of these elements and as shown in Fig. 1, a simple expedient is resorted to which comprises a rod 25 fixed to or pivotally mounted on arm 24 f lever 20 to indicate on a scale 2'! the various positions .of these elements from empty through full.

' Referring to Fig. 2 wherein is shown an enlarged view of the lower end of the bar 23 which is adapted to increase the frictional resistance of the bar to the moving body of material in order that the operation of the indicator may be more positive and better controlled. The bar 23 may be provided with apertures b which extend through the bar, or b may represent depressions formed in the bar into which the moving material may be directed to exert .by its weight as well as by friction a greater force than would be "possible if the surfaces of the bar were smooth.

The normal operation of the apparatus will be considered, as has been heretofore mentioned, as obtaining when the arm 24 is positioned between the limits defined by the arrow points A1 and A: and as long as the arm is maintained within these I limits the supply of material by elevator l2 to the chamber. l0 and its removal by conveyor l4 will be so'correlatedthatthe chamber 40 is mainfrom the contacts 33a and lever arm tion with the apparatus for effecting the .automatic control of. the supply of the material to the hopper l5. This arrangement includes an A. C. circuit for'operating the motor P and a D. C. circuit for controlling the supply of power from the A. C. circuit to the motor. In the D. C. circuit, 28 is a normally open switch which is closed when the arm 24 swings to its uppermost position and its contact 29 engages the switch 28 to complete the circuit from the DC. supply 30. When the circuit is completed solenoid 3| becomes energized and the switch stick 32 is raised thereby and switch arm 33 is released from contacts 33a to the dashed line position, breaking the circuit from the A. C. power supply 38 and cutting off the power to the motor P, which will be operating elevator l2 during the normal operation of the apparatus. No material will be supplied to the hopper 15, when the switch arm 33 is released 24 will begin to swing back toward point A1. Preferably 28 will be a time switch and set to remain closed a selected period of time, for example, until the arm 24 reaches its horizontal position ora lower position, then it will be opened to deenergize sole noid 3| and again close the circuit across contacts 33a when the switch arm 33 falls.

Figs. 3 and 4 show modifications of the movable bar 23 which are designed to increase the frictional resistance of material flowing from the hopper into chamber I0. In Fig. 3 the bar 23a is provided with transverse ,fins'c which are arranged to permit the material to pass thereover but are disposed at an angle sumcient to afiord substantial resistance to the flow of material.

In Fig. 4 the bar 23b is provided with a series of transverse grooves d which are arranged to impede the flow of material and hence increase the frictional resistance.

While the invention has been described in connection with one particular adaptation of the apparatus it is to be understood that this is by way of illustration and that the invention is imited only by the'scope of the appended claims. My

copending application Serial No. 527,415 filed solid fluent material to the inlet of thereceptacle March 21, 1944, is directed to subject matter disclosed but not claimed in the present application.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination, a'receptacle having an inlet and a discharge end,.supply means for feeding solid fluent material to the inlet of the receptacle for passage through the discharge end continuously, a bar having a lower free end disposed within the receptacle and in the path of the flu- 'ent material and an upper endsecured above the inlet of the receptacle ina'manner to permit movement of the bar, said free end of the bar being frictionally resistant to the fluent material and urged downwardly thereby when the material builds up in the receptacle to a predetermined level. 2. In combination, a receptacle having an inlet and a dis charge end, supply ,means for feeding for passage through the discharge end continu-' ously, a lever pivotally mounted between 'its ends position, ma bar bein frictionally resistant to the passage .of the material through the recep tacle whereby when a. given level of material in said receptacle is attained the bar is moved 5 downwardly by the material.

FRANCIS J. MCNAMARA. 

